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Friday, January 26, 2018

Latin From Manhattan - Ethel Smith

From the back cover: Louis Sobol informed his readers in the New York Journal-American: "First Nighters wouldn't let her off. Certainly, this is one of our most versatile entertainers. She delivered organ solos – and then in a hilarious patter, explained how the organ operates. She sang, she played the guitar, she demonstrated how various noisemakers are employed, and put new life into everything." In Variety, the Bible of the entertainment world, Abel Green added: "Decca dicker, Ethel Smith, is a comedienne as well as a virtuoso of the organ... In somewhat the same vein as Victor Borge's tongue-in-cheek humor, Miss Smith makes with the quips and the linguistic ad libs... A novelty on any rostrum, podium, and salon floor." When she appeared as guest performer with The Milwaukee Pops Orchestra, the Milwaukee Journal's Harry S. Pease wrote: "She kicked more rhythms out of an electric organ with her dainty left foot than other musicians extract with all ten fingers.

The Manic Mark Story

My gospel blog, The Good, Bad & Ugly Gospel Record Barn focuses on Cincinnati, Ohio and Northern Kentucky area artists who recorded on local labels such as Jewel, Rite and Queen City Album.

In general, I will be posting only samples and not entire albums. If I post only an album cover it is because the content is available on CD or by download.

If an artist is still working, I will usually refrain from posting a sample. I do my best to locate information on the artist.

I realize relatives and friends may find posts of people they knew or know. I hope you will be pleased with what you read.

The worst fate for an artist, I believe, is to be completely forgotten. I do not blog many of the albums I find because the recordings fail to share a personal vision or a special energy. Liking or disregarding art is relative to your experience, but I think that it is better to be remembered for something crazy, than for nothing at all.